Five people were arrested in Makwanpur district on Thursday night for smuggling electronic cigarettes (vapes) to India.
Acting on a tip-off, a joint team from the Bagmati Province Police Office and the District Police Office stopped a passenger bus heading from Kathmandu to Delhi via Hetaunda. During the search, they found 58 cartons of illegal vapes hidden in a false ceiling installed above the passenger seats.
The arrested individuals are identified as:
- Salam Moktan (37), Dolakha
- Prabindra Rana (27), Udayapur
- Indra Bahadur Darzi (39), Nuwakot
- Santosh Bhushal (30)
- Rajkumar Himang (29), Dhankuta
Police suspect the arrested individuals are part of a smuggling ring that evades customs duties. The vapes, estimated to be worth over 2 crore 71 lakh rupees, are believed to have entered Nepal through the Chinese border.
As no proper documentation for the vapes was found, the case will be handed over to the revenue department for further investigation.
